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When Your Wine Is Gone
“Whatever He says to you, do it”
by Ben Cerullo
If I asked you where
Jesus did His first miracle, what would you say?
Many people would
assume the first miracle happened in a synagogue or other religious gathering,
or perhaps at one of Jesus’ open-air teachings.
But if you think
miracles only happen at religious gatherings — perhaps where there’s a choir
singing or a keyboard setting the atmosphere — you’ve got it all wrong.
In fact, when Jesus
performed His first miracle, there’s no evidence He even read a Scripture verse.
You see, Jesus’ first
miracle was at a party. It was a wedding feast, to be exact (John 2:1-11).
Jesus wasn’t even the
preacher at the wedding.
The Son of God came
just as one of the guests, bringing His miracle-working power into a party
others had thrown.
Stories like this
show Jesus reaching out as the friend of sinners (Luke 7:34).
In the same way, He
wants believers today to bring the power of His heavenly kingdom into our
neighborhoods, our workplace, or social occasions like the wedding at Cana.
At this wedding,
Jesus miraculously turned ordinary water into extraordinary wine.
Still today, our Lord
asks us for the ordinary things in OUR hand, so He can give us the
extraordinary things in HIS hand.
Like the people in
this story, we all face needs of one kind or another — situations that require
a supernatural turnaround.
At various times, we
may need a transformation of our finances… our health…our emotions… or our
families.
And sometimes we
struggle with feelings of boredom and drudgery — needing a transformation that
brings back the joy of living.
Also, perhaps you
have friends or loved ones who are living in bondage to some area of sin or
addiction, and they need a transformation that sets them free to experience
God’s best for their life.
Although the devil
delights in snaring people with temptations and addictions, the power of God
can deliver anyone who cries out to Him!
Restoring the Joy
Water is an
essential, elemental part of life.
But in the story of
the wedding feast in Cana, water also stands for the plain, the ordinary, and
the bland.
Wine, in contrast,
has flavor and texture.
Jesus said this kind
of new wine must be put into “new wineskins,” because it needs room to expand and grow (Mark 2:22).
Take a moment and ask
yourself whether you need the Lord to put the flavor, texture, and joy back
into your life.
He can turn ordinary things
into something extraordinary.
Jesus’ mother told
the servants at the wedding feast, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5).
What profound and
timeless advice!
When you do this,
your water will be turned into wine, and your lack will be transformed into
overflowing abundance.
But Mary’s statement
was pretty radical, wasn’t it?
Are you willing to
follow the Lord’s instructions and do WHATEVER He tells you to
do?
That’s the price for
transforming your circumstances and your life — you must set your heart to
follow the Lord’s instructions.
When Your Wine Is Gone
The wedding feast “ran out of wine” (verse 2), and perhaps that’s how you’re feeling today as well.
You had money… but it ran out.
You had love… but now it seems to be gone.
You had dreams…but somehow they evaporated or turned into nightmares.
At such times, it’s
easy to feel frustrated or disillusioned. “I never thought it would be this
way,” you moan.
That’s exactly how
the people at the wedding feast must have felt when they ran out of wine.
But the story isn’t
over yet… nor is your story over.
No wine? No problem!
All you have to do is
find out what Jesus is telling you to do.
More often than not,
He will tell you to give Him something you HAVE (like water)
in order to get something you NEED (like wine).
So what do you have today,
and what do you need? Like exchanging water for wine, I promise you
it will be a great exchange indeed.
Those who taste the
newly made “wine” in your life may well react like the
master of the feast, who “did not know where it came from” (verse 9).
They’ll wonder where
you got such peace, joy, and zest for life, even amid difficult times.
What a great chance
to tell them about Jesus, the one who can turn their water
into wine too.
If you’re ever
tempted to feel that life has passed you by and your best years are now behind
you, you need to remember how this story ends.
In verse 10, we’re
told that Jesus didn’t just replace the old wine with something new: He
saved the BEST for LAST!
When you do what He says and give Him what you have, God will do the
same for you, giving you “a
future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
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